


Hunter's Winter

by Cosplayplush



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Detectives, Legal Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 07:02:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16949247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosplayplush/pseuds/Cosplayplush
Summary: AU with Nick Valentine, synth, in modern time as a working detective fighting to close the case of a vicious mass murderer.Based on a RP, rewritten and formatted for reading. A short 'love letter' to detective novels and noirs.





	Hunter's Winter

**Author's Note:**

> Again, this is an RP between girlfriend and myself. She adores Holiday and it had been a long while since I wrote anything for him. The resulting story was Hunter's Winter. It has stuck with us and comes up in conversation rather frequently when either of us need a dose of tragedy. We were inspired by the move Seven and Mind Hunters, and a touch of Hannibal.
> 
> Holiday is an OC I have kept and used for nearly 16 years, he is villain and a main character in a large portion of my works. I will be posting a full Fallout 4 story eventually where he is showcased more as a villain than he is here. This RP partly happened because in the fallout 4 book that Holiday is in, there is no interaction between him and Valentine. Something I accidentally cheated myself and girlfriend out of. In addition, I do not approve of what Holiday does or is and many of his actions are something I have to step back from sometimes before I can continue to write.
> 
> Without anymore rambling, I hope you enjoy.

Nick sighed, and tossed the case file back on the desk. Pictures of bodies, all mangled with a sadistic precision, stared back up at him. The captured moment of discovery did no justice to the frozen horror and agony on the victim's faces. He had to flip the photograph over for the irrational fear that they might come to life and demand answers. Why was I victim? Why haven't you caught the person who did this to me? Why are there so many of us? Nick silently chastised himself for not be able to answer any of the imagined questions from dead lips and absent voices. The office was quite, every human officer having retired for the night, leaving only a skeleton crew behind. That had been little of a blessing on it's own, the office could have been shoulder to shoulder and he'd still feel the emptiness these crimes created in him. Nick had been working this case tirelessly, night after night, and still he was no closer to finding the culprit. He was frustrated and, though he needed no sleep, tired.

"What kind of person can do this?" he mused aloud, eyes boring into the backs of the photographs.

Coffee mug thunked loudly as it was sat down beside Valentines hand. The endlessly devoted office clerk smiled down at the old synth. Warm smile that always held something off about it. Like the owner was never truly smiling, just mimicking it. A mimicry Valentine was familiar with, his own never felt real. A copied mind of a now dead detective, driving a mechanical body. The latest in police force advancements, so Vault Tech had claimed. Valentine was a synth, so what excuse did the clerk have?

Nick's eyes shot up as the mug was set on his desk. His lip quirked in a small effortless smile as he looked over at the clerk. "Thanks." he sighed, removing his hat and running a hand along his bare synthetic scalp. A habit no doubt left over from the old Nick Valentine, no different than the love of black sludge office coffee.

"Rough night again, boss?" His voice comforting as it was questioning. The blond gave his hair a shake and sat in the chair across from Valentine. "Wanna talk about it?" He leaned forward, to look at the pictures. He had taken his blue tinted contacts out ages ago, but Valentine never gave him grief for the amber irises.

"Rough doesn't begin to cover it, kid." Valentine replied. "No leads, just bodies. No evidence, not a shred at the crime scenes, save for these yellow ribbons." he pointed to a photo where a ribbon had been tied around the victims severed head. "No apparent motives.... I'm out in the weeds here."

Edward turned the photos over, content drawing a nervous chuckle out, his face twisting between disgust and concern. "Must've hurt." He saw the confused look on Valentine's face. "Anyone who's got tattoos know these areas are the most painful." 

Nick's eyebrow quirked at Edwards statement. "Bet that didn't prepare them much for being nearly disemboweled." the detective replied with a deadpan tone.

"If you find someone who is prepared to have their guts seeing daylight," Edward chuckled "you'll find me hiding in a corner, far...far from them them." 

Edward stood over the desk, tracing along the corpses to Valentine. "Looks, to me, like most the attention was on these areas." 

Valentine's eyes tracing the places Edward pointed out on the photos, scanning between the bodies to see the similarities. Sensitive areas of flesh, several victims sharing an excess in attention in the same patches. Other victims, the flesh was entirely removed. The connection was stored in memory along with the other information regarding the case.

Edward stood back, pushing an empty cart away. "I got plans tonight. Want me to stick around instead?" He started pulling his coat on.

He hummed as Edward pulled his coat on. "Nah, you go have fun. No need for us both to be tearing our hair out over this." he shot the younger man another smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, kid. Enjoy your night."

He nodded a farewell to Valentine. "Plan to. Should be a nice night."

Edward headed out into January snows. Ugly grey slush and blistering wet cold winds. The Holiday seasons had ended and the world was slowly returning to normal. He lit a smoke as he noticed a lone portly man waiting a bus stop. No rushing cars coming or going down the street. Police on patrol had either remained in the garage waiting for a call or at designated locations. The world seemed to empty of humanity save for Edward and the man waiting. Edward smiled to himself, taking a long drag. The night was indeed looking up.

Carefully, Edward, made his way into the alley behind the man. The air was silent save for the crunching of snow beneath sneakers. Plums of thin visible breath poured upward in the night sky. Edward suddenly yelped and threw himself into the garbage cans causing a massive ruckus of metal and garbage bags filled with crinkled frozen trash. The man whipped around and peered into the alley. Edward yelled for help again, drawing the man in away from cameras and the monitored world that was held at bay by shadows and confined rejected paths. As soon as he was close enough to help the blonde, Edward struck.

There was no scream, merely a muffled whack of a head clashing against the side of a building. The echo too brief to draw attention and too common a sound. Edward let his victim's weight roll him deeper into the alley. His favorite knife had already been retrieved, metal exposed to the crisp winter urban air. A thumb brushed gently over the metal, chilling the tip as it moved over. Soon enough, he reassured himself, he would be warming it and himself as he gutted his latest catch.

Edward finished re-positioning the trash cans to be like a chair. A mockery of the cliche of thrones. He carved the last red herring image into the fat of the man's flesh. Edward found a yellow colored pieces of garbage and shaped them like a valentines day chocolate box. Edward stalked off through the snow as daybreak threatened to cast it's light on his macabre display. He couldn't help but wonder how Valentine would receive his recent gift this time.

 

/---\

 

The sun had barely broken over the horizon, and Nick was at the end of his wits again. Looking down at the newest body, cordoned off by police tape cutting across the alley, he felt a twinge of fury rocket through his circuits. Whoever was behind these murder was becoming ever bolder. The looming police station just down and across the street a personally appointed monument to his continued failure. He knelt down and examined the strange symbols engraved into the mans chest, the flesh torn, and stained by dried frozen blood. His eyes narrowed at the yellow bow that had been fashioned out of trash, it taunted him.

"I'll find you, wherever you're hiding." Nick growled under his breath. Crush the urge to toss the entire crime scene in a rage. 

Edward stood on the outside of the police tape with two coffee's. While everyone else was gagging, avoiding looking or green faced; Edward's face was blank as he sipped from one of the coffees. Edward let a tiny flash of a smirk slip onto the corner of his mouth before hiding his fave with coffee.

"Ballsy." A voice came from behind Valentine. It was drastically lacking a sense of empathy or horror for the death just barely out of eye sight of the gathering crowd of spectators. Vultures who flocked to anything grizzly that wasn't a long walk from their couch or too much of an inconvenience to their commute.

Nick partly turned to see Edward, sipping on a coffee, another held in his opposite hand. The spare shaken in gesture for Nick to collect it. "Yeah, but the ballsier they get, the more prone to slipping up they become." he responded, an unspoken assurance that the act wouldn't go unpunished.

Edward raised his cup to the synth. "No dance is without missteps. Hope you spot this guy." Edward chuckled to himself and left to heading into the station for the work day.

Nick watched Edward leave, the kid always seemed to have a witty remark to say about everything. Even for a clerk at a police station, he was undeniably calm in regards to the content that across the profession and undoubtedly the man's desk. Nick found it unsettling at times, helpful in others. To each their own, the synth told himself before return his focus on the crime in front of him.

A women taking photographs called out to Nick. "Detective, there are more carvings. You'll have to wait till autopsy to see them clearly."

Nick turned to the woman. "Have the photos sent to my office as soon as possible, and let them know I need those results asap. More like yesterday if that was possible." The craving for a cigarette was eating at the detective.

His yellow eyes turned back to the corpse, paled and frosted over from the low temperature. He mentally cursed again. Whoever was responsible was so close, not even a block from the precinct, and yes he slipped away like smoke. His processor churned through motives. This was getting more and more personal, that was one fact he knew for sure.

Christine nodded and resumed photographing the scene. "Detective, I know it's not my job to guess but I have to ask." She asked between snaps, looking to the yellow bow. "Why did the bow change this time? Why a chocolate box?" She looked sideways at Nick.

His attention was interrupted by Christine as she questioned the change in decoration. The common signature that connected all the known victims. Nick was more than sure, confident, there were cases that could be tied to this killer that no one had noticed. The overlooked and dismissed victims due to whatever pitiful explanation that would be given as an answer. It was nearly as frustrating as the mounting number of marked kills.

The detective hummed. "My best guess? Our killer's got a sense of humor. Did up the bow like a box of chocolates on Valentines Day." the synth rolled his eyes, yellow lights performing perfect circles in pair. "Because that's real original. No one's ever thought of that one before."

 

/---\

 

Edward beamed to himself all the way back to his locker. Seeing Valentine all worked up over the latest corpse was better than coffee. The fat man's agony barely topped that. Pain and misery were entirely different delights, each sending a much desired chill up his spine in their own unique ways.

Nick headed back to his office, and poured himself into the files with an exhausted drive. His mind cross referencing everything and anything he had stored in his mind looking for any hidden clue he might have missed the thousands, millions, of times he tried before. His processor was working double time as every angle was examined and reexamined again. A loud knock on his door drew him from his review and he suddenly realized several hours had passed. Nick was informed that the autopsy had come back and the morgue was ready for him. The detective grabbed his jacket and headed out. Hopefully he'd finally catch a break.

A stout man looked up from the sheet’ed corpse as the detective entered. "Nick, the phone hasn't even cooled since I called upstairs for you." He picked up a clip board, his surprise was an observed curiosity. "We sent the prints up but I think there is something you're going to want to see in person."

"Can't afford to waste time when there's a psychopath on the loose." Nick responded, making his way over to the covered body. "Whatcha got, James?"

The coroner pulled back the sheet, lines dug into the flesh like freshly made trenches. All of which were meeting at the scribbled mass on the chest. Bloody jagged lines going round and round enough times it could have been mistaken for carved out slab instead. Pools of swirled and tangled slices in a pain sensitive spot. Depth varying from shallow to exposing bone and organs beneath. It was a incredibly time consuming ritual act.

The doctor opened the chest cavity further and moved intestines aside to show Valentine a bow tied around the spine. "The 'bow' is tendons. My best guess is the Achilles tendons that I marked as missing."

Nick's face twisted in disgust as the coroner showcased the lacerations and tendons expertly tied around the spinal column. For all this effort that went into the victim's display and trauma to the bodies, there was dishearteningly little about why. Motive was nearly as reclusive as it's owner.

James saw the twisted expression on Valentine's face. "Nick..." the coroner stepped back. "I'm not sure there is a pattern here. For lack of a better term, I'd call this entertainment."

Nick's eyes shot up to meet the doctors. His mind turned, processing the assumption. Wither it was guess work or a educated declaration, Nick was going to have to trust the man who's entire career was translating the brutalized dead for the living. "...Entertainment? Hmm, someone didn't get enough hugs as a child." he replied dully, letting a weary sigh fall free from his lips. "Well, thanks, doc. You've given me a lot to think over."

If this killer didn't have a motive other than entertainment, then they were even more dangerous and unpredictable than Nick originally thought. That also made catching them even infinitely more complicated, no pattern meant little chance to track them. Had he the ability, he was sure his head would be aching by now. He certainly could recall what a headache felt like and several of the reasons. If this visit wasn't a contender with those, he wasn't sure what else could be.

 

/---\

 

Edward sat at a compact table for his morning break. He picked through book, lazily reading, skimming most of the content. The action was hardly more than a time killer while he waited for something better to come along. If he had been asked, Edward wouldn't have been able to highlight any points in the text. He found his mind drifting elsewhere. Eventually Edward spied Valentine coming back upstairs and heading to settle in at his desk.

Edward snapped his book closed, dumping it into a trash can as he passed by. He briskly walked over. "How'd the gooey bits go? Revealing I hope."

Nick didn't look up from the files he was pulling out when Edward questioned him. "Aside from revealing that our killer is an even sicker bastard than we'd previous thought? It gave me a new angle to work through." the detective replied a bit colder than he would have wanted to sound. "Something's gotta give soon." Another sigh, hands coming up to pull down along his face. "Anything new happen while I was gone?"

Edward gracefully slipped into a chair. "New angle? Sounds interesting." Edward saw the synths brow crease. "Valentine, don't you ever go out for fun? Or do you just live and breath this stuff?" Edward gave a sweeping gesture with his hand, implying the files and work within them. "I'm sorely tempted to take you out for a guys night sorta deal." He frowned as he weighed the amount of time Valentine put into the case. "This can't be all there is to you."

Nick chuckled slightly, a night out sounded absurd. "You know what they say, 'crime never sleeps', and that apparently goes for the detective as well." He paused to take in Edward's blank and waiting face. "Not much reason to go out anymore. Sure I can drink, but it doesn't affect me anymore. It's just... going through motions. Plus it's not like I need to sleep, so I might as well put in the hours here, do something productive." he took off his hat, and placed it on the desk. "Bef-before they transferred my mind into this," he gestured to himself. "it was different, but now... well now I don't have anything, or anyone to go home to."

Edward had sat back, listening to Valentine explain. "As a clerk, I get access to some files. I remember reading through some old case files. Love the big ones." Edward looked for a drink he had finished a while ago. "The 'Eddie Winter' case. Quiet the mess. Sloppy guy, but slick enough to stay hidden."

Nick tensed at the mention of Eddie Winter. His biggest failure to date. The whole thing ended with Winter receiving protection in exchange for him fingering his associates, despite all his crimes, he became untouchable. One big fish released for a lakes for of small prizes. Nick was still filled with rage at the thought of it all. Jennifer had died, her murderer had walked free... and he had been powerless. Nick Valentine had been powerless.

Edward watched Valentine. 

"You need to get out." Edward sat forward suddenly, grabbing his coat. "I won't accept a refusal, let's go. Freshen your eyes." Edward pulled it on and tied the sash. "Before the world ends, you and I will share a drink. I'll get drunk and you'll do the walking." Edward waited for the detective to rise. 

"..." Nick debated the potential outcomes of an evening like the one Edward offered. The pros and cons.

When Nick hesitated, Edward came back. "What good are you going to do just spinning your wheels here verses at a bar?"

The detective groaned, weighing the idea in his head. He figured Edward was right, the photographs, the files were all memorized in his mind. Here or there, he was in the same boat. A purposeful change of scenery was one of the few things he was yet to try in attempts to solve these case.

He stood and grabbed his own coat. "Alright, but if you get too wasted I'm leaving you in the nearest dumpster." Nick replied, his lip twitching upward in a corner grin.

Edward smiled as Valentine pulled himself together. "That'a boy." He patted the synths back with a chuckle. "You'd leave me in a dumpster? Hope I wouldn't meet your prey."

/---\

 

Edward slammed back the rest of his third beer. "Clerk work isa pain. No fun ta' be had." He complained loudly, a hint of a slur meshing his words

Nick swirled the small remainder of his first while Edward finished his latest conquest on a consuming warpath. He listened to him complain, nodding where it thought it was appropriate and where Edward starred in silence for a moment too long. Seeing the clerk outside the office wasn't any less strange that it was before. At times the drunk version of his friend seem barely more than a performance to be quickly followed up with a quirk or drunk behavior too subtle for acting. Either too subtle or Edward was a far better actor than anyone would have assumed at a passing glance. 

Edward opened his mouth to start again but caught a burly looking man eyeballing them. "Got'a a problem there?" Edward snapped across the bar, head stretching up over his slumped shoulders.

The accused growled. "Don't like watching sum kitchen appliance drinking in my bar." 

Nick eyed the brute shouting insults their direction. "'Kitchen appliance'? Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, speaking of." Nick retorted. "No one must have told you that buffout kills brain cells," cold electronic yellow eyes looked the man over. "...and you appear to be missing quite a few."

Edward hissed over the lip of his beer. His face twisting into a amused scowl "I know ta' owner. She ain't you."

The man jutted a finger toward Valentine as he got up. The bar stool screeching loud enough over the blaring music to catch several patron's attention. Most backed away. Majority became unrealistically engrossed with their drinks. "Muzzle yer boyfriend, toaster, before I send you to the scrap yard when I get back."

Nick stared passively at the chubby digit in his face. Clubbing of the fingers, likely has heart problems. "Scrapyard, huh? You manage to think that one up all by yourself?" The man's breath heaving in his face didn't eliminate the possible lung problem on the side.

The man walked off to the back of the bar, loitering by the jukebox. He didn't really make it clear wither he was letting the scuffle go or not. Either way, Nick had had more than his share of the bar scene. Edward on the other hand was leering at an empty section of wall behind the bar. Shelves of beer and liquor should have bubbled over from the seething expression on the clerks face. Nick managed to catch a glimpse of it in the mirror decoratively put behind the shelves. The point was to give the illusion of more space than the bar had. It also served the point to reflect faces, even ones meticulously hidden from others.

Edward turned grimly at Valentine. The fury the detective saw in the glass peeled away when the clerk moved. It was unsettling. "...'Bout ruined the mood. Gotta pee." He clapped Valentine on the shoulder and slipped away toward the bathroom.

Nick nodded to Edward and turned his eyes back to his beer. He was used to the insults and bigotry, it had become more of an annoyance than anything at this point. Years of thick skin built up by the anvil fall of slurs and hate. No matter the thickness, it still nipped at the synth that people just refused to even look beyond the gears and wires.

The bathroom was gracefully empty of occupants, it was time to do a little personal work. Edward popped the hand dryer open with his knife, yanking free the components and stuffing them into his coat pockets. He slipped out of the bathroom and walked past the man at the jukebox. He whispered a scathing insult and leading the brute outside. Edward walked to the back of the building and proceeded to drive the knife shank into the man's throat. The action was as quick as the man's gasp and faster than his feeble attempt to react. Holiday erupted out of the depths of Edward's mind and went to work on the body provided. Stuffing the dyer's wires and components down the man's throat, ripping the brain out through a newly bashed open skull. This was personal to both personalities. Edward, as well as 'Holiday' considered Valentine a worthy existence. Holiday sat back from his work and washed his clothing with the snow. He lit a smoke and returned to linger by the door, allowing Edward to return to satisfied and calmer existence. He made his way back into the bar, flicking the cig into a nearby trashcan, he covered his tracks by dragging feet. 

He came back in to Valentine. "Sorry, needed some cold air. This place nearly lost it's touch. But you handled it well." Edward smiled and nudged Valentine. He ducked his arm away when he caught a glimpse of blood he missed.

Nick hummed in greeting as Edward returned. His first beer was still unfinished in front of him. "Can't blame you for wanting some air." He turned to see his companion quickly duck his arm out of view. A the fringe of a red color splotch caught his eye.

Nick's brow creased for a moment. "Did you cut yourself on something?" he questioned. "Thought I saw blood."

Edward chuckled, brushing off the question. "Dropped my lighter and got a cut on some broken glass." He didn't want to pull his coat off, enough blood had stained his shirt to be noticeable. More so he couldn't explain away. 

Nick nodded as Edward explained. "Guess that's a couple positives to being synthetic, no cuts and no cold." The excuse didn't set well with his gut but it was chalked up to over-thinking.

"Air was nice but I'm freezing now." Edward looked up at the clock. Even with the body stuffed in a dumpster, it wouldn't take too long for staff to notice when they take the trash out. "Valentine, it's about time." He slurred slightly. "I got driving home." He fiddled with he keys.

He frowned as the clerk pulled out his keys. Swiftly, he reached out and snatched them. "Yeah, drink and drive in front of the cop" Nick said dryly. "I don't think so, hot-shot. You're already slurring your words." Nick stood, a sign he wasn't going to accept any argument from Edward. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Edward's gut twisted. The department's address for him was an empty burnt lot of his family home. Not exactly something he wanted Valentine looking into. He lived in a dingy warehouse on the pier. No official address tied to him and it was overlooked by damn near everyone. 

"Yeah,I guess your right. But I don't want my asshole neighbors getting on me for some bullshit." Edward staggered a bit, his own drunk act made him question if he was drunk or not. He started for the door as he saw a bartender bagging up trash. "I stay at a motel." He lied and gave Valentine the name as they walked out. Edward walked briskly to his car down the block.

Nick frowned at the man's sudden strange behavior. Though he'd always found Edward to be slightly eccentric, he chalked it up to being heightened due to the inebriation. He followed him to the car and climbed in the drivers seat. Edward beside him seemed on edge even as they drove away. The motel wasn't far and Nick parked near the entrance, handing over the keys. The office wasn't far either, a few blocks walk, and Nick could use the silence to think some things through. 

"You going to be okay for the night?" the synth questioned, sensing the man's unease that still lingered, though he could tell Edward was trying to hide it.

Edward nodded as Valentine handed off the keys. "Yeah. Don't normally act out. Not even for a friend." Edward started backing up. A cheeky devilish smile on his face. 

The thrill of a kill so close to the head detective made hiding his real emotions very difficult to manage. Edward put a hand to his face to hide the Holiday smile. 

"I'm sure things will...get interesting." Edward turned and headed up into the hotel walkways.

The urge to 'redecorate' a room and sleep there was compelling. Logic advised him otherwise. He waited till Valentine was out of sight before going back down to his car and heading for the pier. Edward felt he should've waited longer but decided to risk the car being heard by the synth and Edward getting clear of the scene. 

Valentine was left to his walk. 

A bar's snowy back alley, a garbage bag tossed in without a care. The corpse looking upward, wires sticking out of his mouth. 

Nick turned at the sound of a car engine. Sighing, he face back toward the office and begun his walk. There was still a nagging feeling in his gut that had caused him to turn around again and wait. He didn't know what he'd been waiting for until he'd seen the clerk drive further down the road. A frown creased the synths brow, his thin eyebrows drawing together. His mind worked in overdrive as he headed back to the station. A pair of patrol cars sped past him as the detective walked. Unknown to the synth, a call had come in about a body at the bar Valentine had just recently left.   
A third stopped by the synth, window rolled down in a hurry. "Nicky! We got a new body, wanna come with?" 

Nick had been caught off guard when the patrol car pulled up next to him, announcing another body, but nothing prepared him for the route they took, and the destination they pulled up at. 

The synth climbed in, the cop started driving again. "Don't think it's your boy Holiday, but it's gruesome all the same." They drove, nearly copying the way Valentine had driven Edward to the motel. "Report is a white male, found in a dumpster behind a local bar." He glanced at Valentine and saw the deep thoughts on his face. "You alright there Nick? Look like you saw a ghost."

It felt as if all his circuits had simultaneously overloaded, and if he had a heart, he reckoned it would have stopped. "Not a ghost." Nick mumbled, as he stepped out of the car, his eyes scanning the front of the bar he'd just left from. "The devil comes in humble guises..."

 

/---\

 

The body was thrown into the back dumpster, the face strikingly familiar. It was the burly man from earlier, the very man who'd disappeared while Edward was excused to the bathroom. The man's face frozen in a death-mask of horror and surprise. Metal and wires stuck haphazardly from the mans stretched mouth, no doubt in homage to his bigotry against synthetics. 

"Literally eating his words," Nick mused under his breath, circling the edge of the scene. "Clever, Holiday." Nick felt as if someone had sucker punched him in the gut. The coincidence was undeniable, and Nick was at a lost for words.

Edward awoke on a compressed half rotten mattress on the floor. Morning lights scattered into the condemned warehouse through yellowed broken glass. His phone going off just next to him. It went to voicemail and started ringing right away again. He sat up roughly and picked up the phone, eyeing it darkly. The department had been calling. His gut rolled. They had to have found the body. Now he was challenged to go to work and remain calm or avoid work with some fake sickness. Holiday thrashed in excitement in the back of his head. Edward rose to his feet and dusted himself off. With a short shower of stolen hot water and clean clothes, he headed into work. He stopped to drop his coat and bloody clothes from last night into a vagrant's barrel fire. Edward shuffled into the department, coffee in hand, tossing back some Advil for his head. Even though he felt fine, he needed to keep up the illusion of a hang over. He gave a zombie faced short wave at Valentine as he passed behind the desk.

Nick watched Edward as he shuffled into work, the facade of a hangover on his face. Christine kept calling for his attention, he waiting until Edward was out of sight to reply.

Christine watched as Valentine intensely eyed Edward. "Something wrong Mr. Valentine?" She asked quietly, evidence bag in hand.

"Yeah, something is most definitely wrong." he muttered, standing up from his desk, checking his sidearm on his hip. Just in case. "I'm going to have a chat with Edward."

Christine tried to voice another question, even stop Valentine. It fell on deaf ears. She took some steps back to let the synth pass. She knew what she had to tell him was important even though it made little sense to her.

Nick threw on his coat, hiding his holstered weapon, and headed to Edwards office. He knocked lightly on the door. "You're looking worse for wear. Last night catching up to you?"

Edward slouched along his desk surface. "Three beers usually don't bite back so hard. Rough time sleeping didn't help." His amber eyes looked up at Valentine. 

Nick leaned against the door frame, an anger rising in him as Edward attempted to toy with him. "Motel bed didn't treat you well?" he probed, knowing full well the answer.

Edward pushed himself up a bit. "I didn't stay at the motel. I didn't want to be embarrassed by my place. It's a shanty." He masked the sly smirk at tried to break out on his face with a gaping yawn.

Nick shifted. "Not a good excuse to be driving under the influence." he responded, the little bastard wasn't going to play nicely in word games. Valentine didn't intend to play fair either. "Though, I went to check in on you earlier- got your home address from the file room," he explained, with a frown. "But the address was just an empty burned lot."

Edward's face darkened for a brief second. "Burnt remains and where I actually stay are very different." Edward's mind snapped back to the memory of lighting his home ablaze when he was a kid. He had enough of parents and their treatment of him. "I prefer to avoid harsh memories." 

"I checked the address for a little background. Two deaths caused by a fire, suspected arson, though the culprit was never apprehended." Nick said, his face remained passive. "Harsh memories, indeed."

Edward sat up straight. Leg crossed over knee, hands folded together. "Parents. Trauma as a child, relief as an adult. I rarely look back." The hungover act did little to dissuade Valentine and Edward opted to let it fade out.

"So you confess that you started the fire?" Nick probed, his brows creased together. He couldn't be that much a fool, could he?

"Confess? I'd do no such thing. It's only a relief as an adult because I don't need to worry about my parents continuing their abuse."

Nicks eyes narrowed through a roll. "So it was just some fortunate accident."

Edward looked at Valentine with cold eyes. "In it's own right, yes. Very fortunate."

"..." Both seem to still, waiting on the others next play.

Edward saw the synth analyzing him. "Something catch your fancy? Or did you get a dumpster fire this morning?" Edward danced around implications.

"More like a dumpster body." he replied. "Looks like that guy who was harassing us last night, had enemies. Found him eating the insides of a bathroom dryer." the synth said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "You didn't happen to.... see anything, last night, did you?"

"Body, lovely." Edward raised an eyebrow before stretching back into his chair. "The guy didn't seem the friendly sort to begin with. I'd question his choice of snacks though." Edward weighed the synths last question. "Just a stray coming out the alley." His face equally impassive. "Did you get anything from the dumpster?"

The detective eyed the man questioningly. "I got a few things."

Edward nodded at the vague answer Valentine gave him. "My friend, I'd be dishonest if I didn't point out the elephant in the room." Edward leaned forward, starring at Valentine like a snake. "Normally, you are happy to share juicy tidbits. Today you're reluctant. Has something changed between us?" He fought with all his might not to smile. The corner of his mouth flicked up once.

Nick fought the urge to call him out blatantly. "A good question, though I'd be dishonest if I didn't ask you the same." He replied. "I'd been forthcoming throughout this entire investigation, and I get the suspicion that you haven't done the same."

Edward sighed and groaned. "Val, nothing has changed on my end of things." He gestured to the files. "I haven't told you a lie to anything you've asked me. One body drops near us and suddenly you feel the need to bring a gun to our chats?" Edward pointed casually to Valentine's coat. "Why else would you wear that in here?"

"A lie by omission is still a lie. Pretending to be someone friend only to have been the cause of so much agony..." Nick's face contorted into a look of disgust. "Did you think by working here, by getting close to me that it would rise you above suspicion? Or were you literally that cocky?"

"Who said I was pretending to be your friend? Accusations without evidence is just slander." He put on an expression of hurt. "I work here because it puts food on the table. Nothing more." Edward's hand moved about through the air as he talked. No cut on either hand or fingers. No cut from glass in the snow while fumbling for a lighter.

The synths eyes scanned over the other man's hands as he moved them, no cuts, no angry red lacerations that indicated they'd been cut as he previously claimed. "What happened to your hand?" The synth probed.

He was lost for a moment. "How do you mean?" Edward looked and cursed his showmanship for forgetting gloves. He remembered the quick fire lie he told Valentine about the blood at the bar. "I heal remarkably well. Little liquid band-aid and some make up, looks like it never happened." He reached for a coat that wasn't there. "Seems I forgot my coat. Shame, it's cold."

Nick watched as Edward gathered his wits and wound his way out of the office.

Edward stepped around his desk and opened the office door to see Christine's Startled face. "If you don't mind, Valentine, this has been an abrasive conversation." He looked back at the synth. "Feel free to search the office if that will calm your nerves." He left in a flurry.

 

/---\

 

Christine looked at Valentine. "Mr. Valentine, I have some good news for you." She held out an evidence bag. "There was something left at the scene. A single blond hair."

The tech surprised him, he was in a sour mood thanks to the talk with Edward, but Christine's words set off a spark of indescribable excitement. The evidence, cold, irrefutable proof. "Was it sent in for DNA analysis?" Nick questioned, nearly charging the woman. "I need the results asap, on my desk, in my hands as soon as possible, Christine."

Christine nodded. "Yes it was and I have the results." She was ushered back to into the office by the synth. "The results were...strange." She handed the detective the paperwork. "It matched a dead man. The multimillionaire Robert Hunter. But he's been dead some 20 years." She swallowed hard. "I had a hunch something was weird. So I ran it against the departments as a shot in the dark. DNA came back to your name." She tried to look comforting as Valentine starred at the papers. "I found several records are altered or missing from archive's hard copies."

"That son of a bitch...." Nick ground out. He slammed his fist down onto the desk. "Who the hell doesn't keep track of the records around here? This is a damned police station, not a slocums joe!"

He slumped into the chair front of Edwards desk, when a thought hit him. He stood back up, and began scouring the room for any hair he could find, moments later he rose from his knees holding a fine strand of blonde hair.

Valentine handed it to Christine. "Have DNA cross examined this with the one found on the scene." He instructed. "And tell whoever is in charge of keeping the records that they are all going to be reported."

Christine took the hair into a bag and nodded. She already knew who handled the records. "Mr. Valentine, this is a hair from Mr. Hunter. He is the one all the clerks report to. He's in charge of the archives." She tried to calm her nerves from being startled again. Christine saw the anger on the synths face. "He has access to everything if he wants."

Nick cursed. "Take that directly to the lab then. I don't care about protocol, protocol and bureaucracy is what let Eddie Winter walk." Nick growled. "Not this time, not ever again. Go around everyone else, and report the results directly to me, understood. The station has been compromised."

Christine nodded several times. "You don't think Mr. Hunter actually has anything to do with this, do you?" She stopped outside the door and looked painfully at Valentine. "I mean, I have a date with him Saturday." She muttered.

Valentine stared at the woman for a beat, her words taking a second to register. "Christine, if you go on that date, I can guarantee yours will be the next body I end up investigating." He warned darkly. "Now go! And don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

Christine gasped at the cold warning the synth gave her. She nodded and ran off to handle the evidence. The tech was nice enough to slip her in the queue without Edward's signature but he reminded her, it would be a break in the chain of custody. Making it useless. She saw on Valentine's face how much this meant to him. She agreed. 

Edward stood outside the station. He debated what he needed to do. Valentine was on him, and he knew the synth had enough brains to find him out. DNA test took a day or so at least and without Edward there to sign off on files, things were going to get backed up. If anything was found on the scene, it wouldn't be enough to convict, but enough to get him questioned. He scratched the idea of serving up Valentine a gift on his desk. That was practically a confession on it's own. Edward flicked his smoke away and returned to sit in his car a moment longer. He considered his options. Go pick on someone and make a show of things, or go back inside and call Valentine's bluff. He opted for the latter. Edward slipped his blade from his leg and climbed back out of the car. He looked to a nearby car and hid it in the wheel-well in case they took him in for questioning. He wanted something he could reach should he be driven out this far.

"Time to put on a show." Edward smirked.

Christine stepped out and bumped into Edward just as he was coming back in.

He starred at her a moment. Christine felt a flutter of hope when the man's expression softened. "Edward, can I talk to you, in private?"

Edward smiled warmly at her. A practice perfect fake smile that lured many to their deaths. "Of course. Let's go to my car, away from prying eyes and ears."

Christine followed, looking over her shoulder into the depth of the department. She saw Valentine having argument with another officer. She knew in her heart she could get the truth from Edward and ease the tension between the men. Friends fight and that is normal, but it shouldn't drive them apart forever.

Nick snapped at the other officer. "Some of us actually care whether or not the job gets done, as opposed to sitting in the slocums joe parking lot hoping the perp falls into their lap!" He turned and slammed the door to his office, a punctuation to his verbal lashings. He could feel himself over heating as anger broiled within him. Flashes of Eddie Winters grin as he strode passed, a free man. "Not again, you're not getting away from me. Never again."

Edward took Christine to the charred remains of his family home. No matter the length of time, he refused to have to land developed. It felt like a finality that needed to linger as long as he could stretch it. The woods in the back were public property so he wasn't concerned with a too direct tie to the now his property. Vagrants and squatters had a tendency to turn up dead if at all in that stretch of faux forest. Anything would be circumstantial at best. 

He climbed out of his car and popped the trunk, a cigarette bobbing between his lips, wisp of smoke and breath betrayed Edward's disinterested exterior. A wide grin pulled the cigarette to the center of his mouth, edges of his lips barely keeping it in place. Christine lay there in the trunk bed, neck twisted backward to stare at the floor. Edward released a content sigh and let Holiday have the run of things. There were as few satisfying feelings as letting the mask of Edward fall away, each time was like warm storm showers falling over him.

Christine was a clever girl after all. She managed to find Edward out through his lies and red herrings in files. The look on her face when he broke truth to her, it was touch-less agony he would cherish forever. He hadn't given her a chance to scream, it was a personal enjoyment he was going to have to forsake this time. He had gotten ahead of himself and forgot to further information from her. She had told Valentine about the hair from the scene. A piece of evidence Edward didn't know had got left behind. And Valentine was suspicious as it was. Christine here would be a thorn in his side if he didn't deal with her now. How lucky for him she had walked right into him.

Holiday lifted her from the trunk and carried her remains into the woods. In a clearing he went to work on crafting his display. Time sped by while Holiday worked ignoring the sun crawl overhead. Once he was finished, an alarm was set on Christine's phone to call Valentine. Edward left the scene to get an early dinner at the diner near the station. It would be a flimsy cover but that mattered so little to Edward now.

Nick's stomach dropped as his phone went off. For the past year, every ring had been nothing more than heralds of bad news and livid bosses. Valentine picked up the call and listened for a moment before offering any words in greeting. His voice spooked something, the sound of underbrush being disturbed suddenly answered back. Nothing answered Christine's name, or the pleas for a response. Expected or not, bad news always stung. He grabbed a car and another officer, before heading to the GPS coordinates pulled from the caller's phone. Rage ignited as he stopped in front of the burned lot that had been Edward's "home".

He slammed his hands on the steering wheel. "Sonova bitch!" He yelled loud enough to propel the accompanying officer from the squad car.

Nick soon followed, stalking out of the car and into the woods. There were obscured tracks that started and ended at the snow covered gravel path that was once a driveway. A single empty coffee paper cup sat in the snow bank at the side of the house, the same brand Edward drank and brought for Valentine. He nearly gagged as he abruptly came upon Christine's body in the clearing. 

All that was left of Christine was scraps and organs. The day had been cold enough to freeze the coffee cup's contents, so too was the blood seeping from strips of flesh and displaced organs. Trails clearly defined, frozen to a deep crimson framing the support structure. A clear plastic mannequin was loaded with Christine's organs in what would've been their proper placement. Fluids pooled downward, seeping from plastic connections and joints. Her hair scalped from her head and draped on the mannequin. The clothing, bodies leftovers and bones had been carelessly flung through out the snow surrounding the macabre piece. A large yellow perfect bow tied around Christine's decapitated head at the mannequin's feet. A simple note left on it.

"No, no, no..." Valentine gasped taking everything in, falling to his knees. "I warned you, I warned you...." he managed out before roaring in frustration. A long silence drifted into the clearing before the synth was able to collect himself. "Call in forensics, now!" He snapped at the fellow officer.

Nicks eyes narrowed as he noticed the letter by her feet. "A Hunters Winter." He bitterly read aloud. The rage turned into an all consuming inferno. "So help me, I will gut you." He growled under his breath to himself, fighting the urge to crush the note in hand. "You will pay, even if I have to kill you myself."

Forensics crawled all over the scene. Picking over everything they could see. A pair sifting through buckets of snow for anything the killer might have dropped. One out at the driveway pouring casts of the tire tracks in the snow out front. Thankfully the cold leaving what few prints they could find, intact. A pair argued over lifting prints from Christine's nearby phone. One said possible, the other said too smudged. They lifted them anyway when they both caught the scathing look from Valentine. The ones that could stomach it, processed the remains and mannequin.

A officer approached the detective. "Sir, a call from the lab."

The tech on the phone greeted quickly. "We got finished running the hair Christine brought to us earlier. She gave us instructions to call you about it." He continued in the wake of annoyed silence. "The hair she brought and the hair from the bar's dumpster edge are microscopically similar. DNA turned out to be a flawless match."

Valentine briefly allowed himself a grin. "Thanks, have a copy of those results sent directly too me." He hung up, and headed back to the station. He needed to have a word with the chief.

 

/---\

 

Edward had returned to the station, just after Valentine had been called out. He went through the daily tasks of his job. Even found a moment to talk to the chief about Valentine's harsh accusations, and how Edward felt 'it was an improper time to address personal issues like that'. Chief sided with Edward and promised everything would be handled immediately. Now all had to do was wait for Valentine to return and see where things went from there.

Heading into the precinct, Nick strode into the chief's office with a curt knock. "Sir, we need to discuss the Holiday case."

The chief looked up. "That we do." He pointed out the glass windows towards Edward's desk. "Airing dirty laundry on one of our own? Baseless accusations because of...what Valentine, tell me?" The chief growled, sat back. "You're one of my best, but now I got you jumping chain of custody over a hair?"

Valentine resisted the urge to tell the man exactly what he thought. "I was there, at that bar with Edward! He excused himself, and came back with blood on his hand. He insisted we leave right after that." Nick explained, gripping the desk to shoulder the weight of sheer manipulation going on before him. 

"A dive bar and some blood. Not like Edward came back with his entire body covered in it." The chief laid out the files, the mouthy-tough turned dumpster-foodie starred up from glossy eight by tens. "The guy who's doing this has to be soaked in blood." He sighed, pinching his nose bridge. "Holiday is a nutjob with a sharp stick. Edward has been a stable working member of this department for nearly 10 years."

"...Sir..."

"A charity volunteering member, Nicky..."

"I hadn't suspected him before that night, but it's too big'ofva coincidence to just let slide. And even if that isn't enough, the fact the Christine Perkins was murdered after delivering a sample of his hair to the lab, should be enough to tell you that this station has been compromised." 

Chief grumbled. "Nicky, that hair was delivered without passing through the right people. How was Edward to know about it if you didn't put it in the right channels?"

"Channels be damned!" Nick bashed a hand across the desk. He hunkered down to lean across the desk. "I warned Christine not to trust him, and the next time I see her, she's a mutilated corpse with a message directly taunting me! You have to see that something is going on here, chief!"

The chief sighed, there was no fighting with Valentine when he got like this. "I see something lining up. But you're going to put your head in a noose if you keep going this way. Get him...by the book!" The chief excused Valentine before the synth would try lunging at him. 

Valentine felt the weight in his chest lighten at the chiefs words. "Thank you, sir." he replied honestly.

The chief saw the aggravation on Valentine's face soften, he groaned. "Look, Nicky," his words froze the synth. "Get the hair signed of by Jimmy, the assistant to the archives and then go get your warrant." He looked hard at Valentine. "I really hope you know what you're doing with this. It's career suicide if it backfires."

"I don't have a single doubt in my mind." with that he left and headed to the clerks office to get Jimmy to sign off on the sample. He was one step closer, one step closer to stopping Edward and finally getting the justice he so desperately sought.

 

/---\

 

Jimmy looked at the papers and evidence bag Valentine shoved into his hand. "Sir, I don't understand. This is highly unusual. What little evidence we have from the Holiday case goes directly to Mr. Hunter." He signed it and stood back. The underling knew full well that he didn't have a position to argue against a homicide detective like Valentine. "Edward will have me written up for going over his head." Jimmy continued to whine.

Edward had watched Valentine leave with a determination he hadn't seen before. The smile on the synth's face drew a scowl on his as the synth approached. "Well well, seems someone caught a break." 

Nick stopped, his smile still firmly in place. "You're running out of places to hide, Edward." the synth remarked.

Edward felt Holiday buck against what little restraint Edward had on him. "Let's see your hand Valentine." The blonde clerk crossed his arms over his chest, a smirk to match a grin.

Valentine's brow raised at the man's request. "And why would you need to see that?"

"Just getting the lay of things." Edward smiled. "Given our earlier conversation, I have the notion you have something for me." Edward stood and waited for Valentine to make his move. "Are we pushing this 'friendship' to the next level?"

Nick leveled his gaze at Edward. "The only thing I have for you is a cold cell." The synth narrowed his eyes. "Edward Hunter, you're under arrest." he said coldly, he opened a handcuff with a single smooth flick of his wrist. "DNA found at the scene of the bar matched your own collected from your office, it's enough to at least hold you."

Edward and Valentine stood in a long awkward silence. 

Handcuffs pocketed, Nick's hand went instinctively toward his hip. Fingers brushing over the butt of his service pistol. "So, the only question now is, do you plan on coming quietly?"

The smug smile on Edward's face was clear. He debated, hang onto 'Edward' or embrace 'Holiday'. "You know, I have a driving curiosity to see what you want to ask me in interrogation." His eyes narrowed and darken. "Coming quietly isn't usually my style." He came around the desk, wrist offered outward to the cautious robot. "Tends to imply a disappointed women."

Nick scoffed. "You'd know all about disappointing women." he took out handcuffs from his belt, and slapped them over Edward's wrists. He led the man to the furthest interrogation room and sat him, not to gently into the chair, taking the one across for himself. "There's no point in keeping up the charade anymore." Nick said bluntly. "There's only two ways this is going to end, and it's with you either behind bars or six feet under."

"Charades are where the fun is." Edward smiled, sitting back and making himself more comfortable. "At least dead I could get Jenny's thoughts on disappointed women while I'm there? Christine more preferred as most recent mule for your emotional baggage?" Edward hissed through a confident and amused expression. "You have a hair at a bar that we both were at. Care to explain you're assumed smoking gun?"

Rage churned in Valentine, he fought back the urge to slam a fist across the other man's face at the mention of Jenny and Christine. 

"You have a stronger constitution than I would've guessed." Edward sighed, running a cuffed hand through his hair. 

"Stronger than yours." Valentine sneered. "Your DNA was found at the scene of the murder, along with the fact that you disappeared around the same time the victim went missing. You return with blood on your hand. That is one hell of a set of coincidences to line up there." Nick said lowly. "Should've played the lotto when you left the motel."

"Been busy, do you have the numbers or is that next week?"

The audacity was picking Valentine, he silently reminded himself to calm down and not play this by Edward's game. "With the warrant I now have I'm going to have forensics go over everything again. Who knows what they might find in the trunk of your car. You had to get Christine to those woods somehow." he said, leaning forward. "There is no where left to run, Eddy-boy, it's over."

"A drunk fight hardly amounts to murder charges." Edward's eyes narrowed a bit. "Some blood, that you alone are claiming to have seen. You have no coat. I admit I got in the brute's face over the toaster comment, but nothing more beyond that." Edward leaned forward to get closer to Valentine. "And which car are you on about? The one I have registered or the one of dear old daddy's collection? I'm not sure which ones you'll want to dig in." He blew a kiss at the detective. "If there is no where to run, why are you still calling me Eddy?" He growled.

"What kind of pathetic low life gets his rocks off murdering people for fun." the synth thought a moment then hummed. "But of course that's all you have isn't it? You're incapable of feeling anything outside of the drive to kill, to maim. You're too weak to control yourself." the synth narrowed his eyes. "That's one thing that makes me stronger than you, because trust me I'd like nothing more than to put two in your head for what you did to Christine, but I'm not the monster. I'm not the pitiful excuse for a man who still hides behind his father's name because he's too scared to face reality." he jabbed.

Edward sighed for a moment. Just breathing. He looked back at Valentine with a predatory look in his eyes. "You seriously think it's death I'm after. I pointed it out to you Valentine, but you were to short sighted to see a damn thing. Pain. Give it or deliver it. No in-between. You defective Ikea discount bin toaster, I gave you the single perspective you needed and you just 'oh, aw'ed over it!" Edwards face was no clerks through the worded snarling. "It's really all I want. When day in and day out your surrounded by cattle too stupid to know they're wallowing in their shit. Happy to move from one thing to the next to bitch about. Oh my Christmas cup upset me. I'm on a diet no one gets to have cake, ohhh look a new starvation trend to get more thumbs up on my phone." Edward gave the table a sharp kick. "I. Am. Bored, sir!"

Nick's jaw clenched at the other man's rant. "So it's a sick bloody version of sadist-masochism that get's you off while you preach about what's wrong and right? Is that why you chose to mutilate the people the way you did? The tendons around the spinal column, the scalping, and bizarre carvings? All because you hate people on the internet?"

"Chose? Trial and error. Eventually I found what gives me chills. The test runs, well it's been a long time coming but I thought I'd let the police in on my games." Holiday sneered back. "And no, it's not people on the internet that...irk me, it's people in general. I hate in mass, no need to be picky about it."

Valentine waited for Holiday to address the unanswered points.

Holiday hissed through a wide smile. "Wait, did you call me 'weak'? I've been gracious. I never had to stop. I choose to, to see the other side of my messes." Holiday snorted a single chuckle. "Ohh and Christine, like you were actually interested in her as a person. Sitting here pining over the death of a women 'you' never actually knew. How maddening is it to have another man's life in your head & know it's not for you? Just a botched copy and paste of a dead man." Holiday growled triumphantly. "Tell me Nicky, how does reality taste, I've never been one a first name basis with it."

A wire, gear, cog, joint, converter, something snapped in the depths of the synth. Nick stood up, as his jaw clenched at the other man's words. The mention of Jenny sent fire through his artificial veins. "Christine was an innocent, just like Jenny." he growled. "I couldn't get justice for Jenny, but I can at least get it for Christine." he leaned in. "I'm the one with the other man's life in my head? You have more personality problems than I could ever have." his eyes narrowed. "It's Holiday right? Is that the little voice in your head that tells poor, little, sad, pathetic Edward to kill? Or is it just you in there, two sides of the same coin? An alter ego created for the sake of murders." he hummed. "I suppose it is slightly more intimidating than Edward. That name just conjures up images of sparkly teenage vampires and rich frat brats."

"Innocent is a popular lie. Look hard enough at anyone and you'll find something dark." Holiday smiled, "Holiday, yes. 'Edward' was a commanding performance don't you think? I couldn't work here if I was 'just being myself'. No matter the level of spunky enthusiasm for the work." Holiday chuckled "Edward was a lovely bait, no sparkle but there was a clumsy cuteness some just couldn't help but rush to." Holiday sat back and watched the detective pace. "Twenty two years and I've been active through each one of them. How long have you been on my case, three? We have gaps to fill, I'd say."

"Christine was innocent. It's only bastards like you that use that line to justify their own sins." Nick retorted his eyes narrowed. "and that 'clumsy cuteness' is what you used to hoodwink her. She was naive enough to trust you, and you jumped on the opportunity."

"Leave sins and religions out of this, there is only mankind at the root of this. I don't justify, I relish it. You are about the closet I've seen worth being called human and all you are is ones and zeros running through copper wires and plastics boards. Innocent or not, Christine was naive, but couldn't see the bear trap she was sticking her face in by cuddling up to me. Gave her plenty of hints."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment." he replied dryly. Nick paced the room. "Twenty two years..." he shook his head. "Do enlighten me, Holiday. Just how much blood is on your hands? Do you even bother to keep count at this point?"

Holiday watched, scooting his chair up to the table to discreetly pull a pin from his shoe heel. He smirked when he saw that Valentine missed it. "In that many years, you expect me to keep track? I can think of at least 8 or 9 that stuck with me. But I can tell you I've graced both coasts and most of all of the mid-west. If I had a bit more time I would've made our Chris number ten."

"Christine didn't deserve what you did to her." Nick sneered. "The only people who deserve to be wiped from this earth are the scum like you who take the lives of those just trying to enjoy theirs." his fist clenched. "And that's just another point to how truly weak you are. Seeking out those who can't defend themselves, attacking a woman who misguidedly trusted you. Taking a man unaware in an ally, or a drunkard behind a bar. You are the definition of pathetic, Holiday." He came over and leaned over the desk. "A sniveling worm of a man who preys on people to compensate for his own shortcomings."

A visible shudder. "I love it when you get worked up." Holiday smirked as Valentine loomed closer. "Careful darlin', I bite." He clicked his teeth. Partly to make the detective uncomfortable, mainly to mask the click of a cuff coming free. He turned to work on the second one. "You act like cattle I've taken to slaughter were unarmed. Or even unaware what I was looking to do. Surely I thought when I and one were take to a hospital, someone would've caught on. The Jethro file, about 7 years ago I believe. Man came in so badly beaten he was in a coma. Brought in with a 'Mark Knightly'. Staff labeled the incident a domestic dispute." Holiday sighed and considered the memory. "Not my cleanest work, officers took my blood then. Shame Jethro just so happen to die. Heart attack or was it the air bubble in an IV tube I saw creeping down the tube."

Valentine pinched the bridge of his nose in disgust. "I've gotten what I needed. Everything you've said is more than enough for a conviction." Nick, pushed the opposite chair in. "Anything else you can say is just fuel to the fire at this point. It's over for you, you'll be put to death for everything you've done." he gave an exhausted sneered and began to walk to the door, pointing to the camera in the side of the room. "They'll come and take you to a nice cold cell in a bit. I almost hope you manage to choke on you're own tongue before they make it here."

Holiday clicked his tongue loudly. The cuffs slouched in his hand. 

"I nearly forgot, Nicky, the most important little detail for you." He smirked. "As a synth you have a perfect memory, you were a part of a murder I would like to confess to an association with."

"Spit it out, I don't exactly need more." Valentine scoffed and shook his head chuckling. "But I won't turn down more to bury you with."

"Recall crime scene photos from Jenny's murder." He led the detective's memory. "Look a little familiar? Now, now I didn't do the deed myself but Winter did track me down. He wanted advice on showmanship. He had plenty of toys for me to play with after that. Very generous man." Holiday centered himself for the expected assault of Valentine charging him. "Wonder what the DA will want, Winter or Holiday? All the same to me."

Nick froze, the words filtering through his processors, causing his stomach to drop. Everything felt fuzzy, numb, as if all his sensory nodes had cease to function. The world around him moved in a blur, his vision turned red as he spun, fist ripping across Holiday's head. He slammed the killer's face down onto the metal table with a roar. Valentine's breathing was heavy, his mechanical heart drumming loudly in his chest.

"You SON OF A BITCH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Half the stations leapt from their chairs.

Holiday roared with laughter as he head bounced back up from the table. He gave the synth a feral look as officers came in to restrain Valentine. Horrific murdered or not, they still were bound by the laws they defended. No where did it allow for the beating of suspects. Holiday saw his chance. He gave the table a hard kick and shoved it into the group of men ahead of him. The freedom of Holiday caught them off their guard. Holiday snatched down into the group and yanked a pistol free, firing a shot into an officer's face and into the neck of the other. As Valentine struggled to free himself, Holiday whipped the pistol across the detectives face, braking some of the casing free and exposing the internal parts. Holiday lunged over them in the confusion and bolted down the hallway and through the station. His arrest hadn't been made public yet, most officers merely stood in shock at the blood splattered 'Edward'. Holiday knew his chances of escape were slim to none. Holiday laughed manically as he bolted again, the excitement and thrill drove him onward.

Nick's head whipped back around, a hand coming up held against the busted casing as he hauled himself out of the room. He sprinted forward, past gobsmacked officers. "Stop him you idiots!" He shouted in fury at the other's who were just standing around as he continued his pursuit. He could still see Holiday, a good start a head of him. He pulled out his pistol and fired a few shots at sprinting legs.

Holiday staggered, colliding into the side of the nearest car hard enough to shake it. The killer sank down the side and rolled hard onto his back, laughing and panting in the snow. "Hurry it up Nicky!" He yelled at the synth walking up slowly. "I have places to be, I'm told Hell is lovely this time of year." Holiday's blood seeped into the snow as the detective rushed up. "You know...this era has gotten boring. Perhaps I'll see you in another lifetime?"

Valentine stared in silent fury at the bleeding man on the ground in front of him. "The only place I'll be seeing you is in Hell." he growled as the other officers rushed over, guns all drawn. "Like you said, we all have something dark, no one is innocent."

"Hell it is then, I'll buy the first round." Holiday grinned widely as he answered. "Least your face'll keep me fresh in your memory."

"I only wish it could be me to put two in your brain..." he growled lowly, stooping down so that only Holiday could hear him. "You'll hang for all the shit you've done."

Holiday remained still while Valentine came down to his level. The killer snapped his face up suddenly, licking the damaged side of Valentine's face. "Don't tease me with a good time."

Valentine growled, recoiling to stand and resisting the urge to slam his fist into the man's face. He'd already get trouble for his violence earlier, he didn't need to potentially muck up the rest of the case. "..."

"I'll be seeing you, Nicky." Holiday grunted as he was stood up. "It's a date."

Valentine stood in the snow covered parking lot, lit a cigarette. He held the smoke as long as he could tolerate, exhaling slowing into the winter air. Thoughts fell on Christine and Jenny as he watched their killer being dragged away. It was a mess, everything was a mess. There was no perfectly clear case and Edward could easily make a case for insanity.

The detective's shoulders sank in exhaustion. "I need a Hol..." The term soured instantly in his mind, a curse slipped out. "I need a vacation."


End file.
